LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs the bases after hitting a home run in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Blake Snell won his Dodgers debut, Teoscar Hernández hit a three-run homer and Los Angeles defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-4 in its home opener Thursday.
Snell (1-0), a two-time Cy Young Award winner who signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in the offseason, allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. The left-hander struck out two and walked four.
Hernández homered off Tarik Skubal (0-1) on his first pitch with two outs in the fifth, putting the Dodgers back in front 4-2. Ohtani reached on a fielder's choice and Mookie Betts walked to set up Hernández.
Teoscar Hernández crushes a three-run homer for the lead! #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/vWksLaZ7A7
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2025
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Ohtani homered in the seventh, extending the lead to 5-3.
SHOHEI OHTANI OPPOSITE-FIELD HOMER! #OPENINGDAY pic.twitter.com/uAjflBxs0S
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2025
The Dodgers improved to 3-0, having opened the season with a pair of victories over the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo this month.
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The defending World Series champions and a sellout crowd of 53,595 saw the Commissioner's Trophy arrive on the field in a blue convertible driven by rapper Ice Cube before the game.
Snell’s wild pitch led to Spencer Torkelson scoring the Tigers’ first run in the fourth.
Snell gave up back-to-back singles to Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene before walking Torkelson to load the bases in the fifth. The Tigers took a 2-1 lead on Manuel Margot’s sacrifice fly.
Torkelson homered to cut the Tigers' deficit to 4-3 in the seventh. They again got within a run in the eighth on Kerry Carpenter's sacrifice fly off Tanner Scott.
Spencer Torkelson gets a run back for the @Tigers! #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/DhxsDabZYL
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2025
Tommy Edman, who hit the first home run of the 2025 MLB season in Game 2 of the Tokyo Series, opened up the Dodgers home run account by hitting the first long ball of the season in Los Angeles off Skubal in the bottom of the second inning.
Tommy Edman puts the @Dodgers on the board! #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/QUUSd3CeXM
— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2025
Key moment
Blake Treinen came in to pitch the ninth with the Dodgers leading 5-4. He put the potential tying and go-ahead runs on, then retired Trey Sweeney and Colt Keith for the save.
Key stat
Skubal, last year's AL Cy Young Award winner, gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. The left-hander struck out two and walked one.
Up next
RHP Jack Flaherty, who left the Dodgers in the offseason to return to Detroit, makes his season debut. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 1.80 ERA) goes for Los Angeles.
